That Would Take a lot of Tomorrows

[Episode 11]

"Really?! We're really gonna go visit your village, Nei!?"

With a hearty sigh, Neirah had diverted her gaze from Kidd's eager prying. "Well, that's what our leader says so... here we are."

"You're not even a little excited?" Zorthy pried. "I mean, all your friends and family are still down there, right?"

After wrapping his arm around her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, Iraak had let his curious gaze near her fretful expression. "Don't you miss it even a little bit?"

Giving her head a gentle shake, she'd rolled from his embrace and climbed to her feet. "I'm sorry, this must seem weird to the rest of you. It's not exactly that I'm against the idea or anything, but he could have picked a better place to start if he wanted to go around liberating villages."

Yoko had stepped towards the disdainful woman and laid her hand against her shoulder with a friendly smile. "Don't be like that," she encouraged gently. "You know he's doing it because he thinks it'll mean a lot to you, so just let him have this one."

"That's not fair!" Kidd argued passionately. "How in the hell am I supposed to compete with that!?"

"Just let it go," Iraak murmured calmly.

"I have to say, it's a bit like the equivalent of drawing a heart in the sand with two names in it competing against a hand-carved statue," Leeron teased.

"Yeah, 'cept poor Kidd here can't even spell his own name, much less hers."

Kidd whirled to face Zorthy wrathfully, his heartache making his eyes ache with the need to cry furious tears. "Would you shut the hell up?! I'm workin' on it, kay!?"

Yoko had groaned to the comparison. "And I'm pretty sure Kittan isn't even patient enough to draw the heart in the sand much less carve an entire statue of her. I doubt he has an artistic bone in his body."

"Don't mind him, jealousy is an ugly colour." Iraak had slunk over next to Yoko and slipped his arm around her lower back. "But the positivity you radiate is an absolutely breathtaking shade."

Yoko had flinched when Kittan had dropped the butt of his fist into the top of Iraak's head, bopping him right off Yoko's arm. "What'd I tell you bozos about picking on the girls?"

"Perfect timing," Leeron crooned.

"Oh come on! You can't have both!" Kidd snapped impatiently.

"I think we should be gettin' close!" Kittan encouraged excitedly. "Are ya stoked to be takin' back yer old stompin' grounds?"

Neirah had turned back to face their gathering from where she'd been lost in her thoughts and looking out the window towards her familiar surroundings. "Sure, I suppose..."

Kittan had hit the floor at Yoko's side before scrambling back to his feet and approaching the melancholy woman. "What?! You suppose? That's it..?"

"Don't patronise her," Yoko scolded. "You're walking us into a death trap just so she can see her village again, that's gotta come with some pressure."

"Deathtrap!? Screw you!" he blasted right back. "Dai-Gurren's firepower is finally back online so consider this a test run!"

"Well excuse me," Zorthy instigated cunningly. "But I think you're both full of it. I think the assassin's got her own reasons and you two don't have a damn clue what they are."

"Well, it's hard to know if she don't tell us!" Kittan argued frantically. "Look, it's not just because it's Neirah's village, okay? That place is crawlin' with badass pilots just like 'er with tonnes of information about the bad guys! Can you imagine havin' 'em all on our side?!"

"It won't be that easy," Neirah murmured quietly. "Even if we do liberate the village, there is no guarantee that a single human will respond to your request to join our cause."

"And why the hell not?"

Neirah had slowly returned her gaze to the window. "Because, as I've said before, the humans living in Tetsai are no better than machines. Consider them programmed to follow orders... There's nobody there left to think for themselves. They would rather stop functioning than defy a command given by their authority."

"You did." Neirah had slowly turned to face where Yoko had made her gentle suggestion. "You defied them when you refused to kill Kittan. I struggle to do that even on a good day." She'd offered the woman a tender smile. "Look, I get why you're nervous, but there's a chance that there are more like you down there and if that's the case, then it will be worth us helping them to escape. That's just what humans do. We band together and tough it out for better or worse."

"Yeah! That's what I meant!" Kittan zealously agreed. "Except about the killin' me part... That doesn't sound like somethin' I should be supporting..."

"Thank you," Neirah murmured softly. "If nothing else, it will give me an excuse to stretch Tsaizuko's legs. I don't think they've had a deserter return and attempt to liberate the village since my father."

"Your father?" Yoko hummed softly. "He made an attempt at freeing your village?"

"I think so," she casually informed. "But he didn't get very far and then he was executed publicly in the village centre."

"That's brutal," Zorthy mumbled bleakly. "I'm startin' to get why you're so messed up."

She'd smiled back at their bleak expressions kindly. "That's just what happens when humans break the rules, or that was what I was given to believe. It was something I'd never questioned until recently."

"Boy, that's tough," Yoko added dismally. "I always thought Littner had it bad but at least we'd had the means to fight back."

"Tetsai doesn't even sound like a single person there possesses the fighting spirit needed to fight back," Leeron added humbly. "How tragic." He'd passed a bleak sigh before escorting himself away from their conversation and back to the control tower. "Now you kids play nice, alright? I'm going to go check on our progress."

"It's funny," Neirah whispered lightly. "I never thought it was tragic until I met you all. That was just... life."

Noticing that Neirah had started to rub her bare arms like she'd caught a nervous chill, Kittan's concerned expression had struggled to try and articulate words of comfort. He'd settled for reaching out to her, hoping the warmth of physical reassurance might help her to relax.

Unfortunately, before he could make contact, Kidd had lurched forward and impatiently swatted away Kittan's outstretched hand looking to quietly comfort the woman. "Dumbass! And you wanna take her back to where she suffered through all that stuff?!"

Kittan had swung around and bared his teeth as he'd snapped his defensive retort. "It seemed like a good idea at the start!"

"Why are you so stupid?!" Kidd snarled. The two had lingered for a moment in a heated contest, miserable growls preceding the need to strike each other between the eyes.

"Oh mister leader~" Kittan had flinched out of their lock to the sound of Leeron's casual song over their intercom. "Could I be so bold as to whisk you away for an audience?"

Kittan had turned and looked back at their gathering, trying to hide his perspiring behind a confident smile. "So! Who wants ta be leader?"

"Yeah, no thanks,"

"It's all you, buddy."

"Yeah! All you! You lead us!"

Kittan had bowed his head in defeat. "You guys suck, you know that?"

Kittan had dragged his feet when climbing up to their observation tower, a twisted knot in his stomach. He hadn't meant to cause Neirah pain in suggesting that they liberate her village. To him, all signs had pointed to a great deed. Half of him had been tempted to tell Leeron to turn the ship back around and resume course, but the other part hadn't been man enough to admit that he was wrong. He'd groaned as he'd reached the control room and joined their command team. "What is it, Leeron?"

"Oh? Don't sound so impressed," Leeron teased impishly. He'd turned to face out the front observation deck the moment he'd realised that it had stolen Kittan's attention. "I thought you might like to see this before she does."

The knot that had been in his stomach had started to wrench as he'd stared out over the tundra with a wild gaze locked on an all too familiar sight. He could feel the weight of Kinon's gaze watching him, her hurt expression helpless to stop him from witnessing the heart-wrenching truth. "What... what the hell is that?" he muttered grimly. But he'd recognized it, and given the summon that had called him to post, he'd assumed that they'd found Neirah's village. "It looks like-"

"Smoke."

The room had whirled to face where Neirah had already floated through the halls and found her way into the control tower among them. "Neirah," Dayakka whispered softly.

Her gaze had remained calm and focussed on the dark, billowing clouds rolling out of the pit she'd used to call home. "It's alright," she gently encouraged. "I'd wondered why we hadn't seen any human pilot resistance over the last few days. I guess... this must be why..."

They'd carried on their path until Dai-Gurren had stood at the foot of the gigantic pit. The troubling part had been that not all of its ceiling had collapsed, only a small fraction of the massive underground stronghold. And like they'd expected, the black plumes of smoke reeking of synthetic materials and burning human decay had consumed everything. What they had come to rest their dreadful gazes on had been just the aftermath of the calamity that had stricken Tetsai from the earth.

Neirah had stood quietly out on the deck of Dai-Gurren, staring down into the gaping hole with a calm expression on her face. She'd stood alone, her crew at her back and awaiting the command to comfort or attack; anything to help her feel like she wasn't alone. She'd just let her burning gaze linger for a long and silent moment, her senses forever stained by the presence of devastation she'd brought down upon her own village. Her father had been an example that she had refused to heed, refused to become. Obviously, the capital had grown tired of stomping out their resistance, and if she'd had to wager a guess, she'd assumed that Viral had been the beastman to blame. 'If I had of gone with them that night... would it have spared the rest of you?'

"You were right..." she whispered gently. "Mom..."

"Awe man, I screwed up," Kittan whispered bleakly among their companions. He'd raked his tense fingers back through his hair as he'd started to pace. "I really screwed up bad." His body had tensed when Yoko had raised her hand and gently rested it on his shoulder for comfort, the kind act causing him to turn his wounded gaze to hers.

"It's fine," she encouraged him softly. "I'll go to her." She'd smiled back at him tenderly as she'd slipped her hand away from his arm. "You know, so she doesn't kill you on sight or anything; given your history." Yoko had taken a moment to linger by his side and watch the woman before them remain in her own solemn thoughts. "But I think she's going to feel like she's the one to blame for this, not you."

He'd whined gutturally to himself as he watched Yoko take his place next to Neirah in an attempt to clean up his mess. "Damn it... Damn it! I really thought..."

"Yoko's right," Dayakka gently reassured the panicked man. "Neirah isn't the type who will hold this to heart. She knows that you meant well."

"Yeah well, meaning well and doin' well are two different things..."

"That's because you're doing it to be the hero," Dayakka added softly. He had been unaware of how intently his comment would draw Kittan's attention. "Neirah doesn't need a hero."

Yoko had sauntered up to Neirah's vacant silhouette, her hands folded behind her back as she'd casually taken her side. For a long moment, they'd just remained silent, like the day that they had forged their first bonds. "Just remember that he means well," she reminded her kindly. "He really did try."

"I know," Neirah admitted softly. "That thought still warms me, even now."

Yoko's expression had slowly dropped when she'd listened to Neirah's tone start to crack with restrained emotion. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Neirah had closed her eyes, bowing her head with a small smile before turning her lively sapphire gaze to face her new friend. "I have never been able to say yes more confidently."

Yoko's breath had hitched nervously. "You... you haven't?"

Giving her head a quiet shake, Neirah had turned her gaze out towards where her home had been vanishing as a result of the lethal assault dealt. "This sight... fills me with hope..." She'd refused to look back at anyone observing her for the fear of seeing their expressions. She had known that it would sound crazy to them, maybe even a little insensitive to those who had suffered losses of their own of a similar calibre. "I mean, how desperate does the capital have to be to annihilate an entire human village under its own control just because they're afraid of the ones to stand against them?"

Yoko had whirled to look out into the rising smoke and ash with a bewildered adjustment in her consideration. "I... you're right..."

"For the most part, Tetsai had loyally designed the machines that the beastmen had used to suppress them, but in doing so, they'd become no better than the gunmen they'd built. Even the children didn't laugh and play like Gimmy and Darry do. They were lifeless from the start. There was a time that I was no better." She'd turned to face Yoko warmly. "My mother used to tell me that it would get easier, hunting the surface humans for the beastmen. She said that there was no need for me to look back or feel sad because the humans in Tetsai had become machines themselves, and I couldn't argue with her. I know she told me this to keep me away, to keep from repeating my father's mistakes, but I guess, there was enough human left in me to do that anyway."

"So... You really don't mind? Seeing your... seeing your home like this?"

"Why? Are you going to tell me that everything will be alright?"

Yoko had let a small smile crack her worrisome expression. "How could I do something like that when I don't know if it will or not?"

Neirah's cheeks had flushed with the tender sentiment as she'd diverted her sheepish smile. "We showed up here to liberate the village, but in a way, someone has already done that for us..." she whispered surely. Her expression had become sterner as she'd raised her gaze beneath her furrowed brow to oversee the damage too late to prevent. "My heart is split down the middle and filling me with enough emotion to make my body ache for revenge, but I can't regret the decisions that brought me here... Not this time." Yoko had watched the woman's fist clench at her side with the tension beginning to brew. "The shadows of the past are there to make us stronger. Humanity's light will shine brighter in the wake of this loss... like every one before them..."

Yoko's brow had creased, her concern for the woman deepening as she'd turned and started walking across the deck to where their friends had remained. She hadn't shuddered or snivelled once despite having displayed signs of genuine life returning to her eyes not long before.

"Hey, Nei, I-"

Iraak had gently pulled Kidd back out of the quiet girl's way to keep him from interfering. "Not now, Kidd..."

She'd passed them all by, not raising her gaze to meet any of their concerned expressions. The last thing she'd wanted to do was make them worry about her when they had all still worried about Simon. She'd drawn everyone's attention the moment she'd stopped right in front of their nervous leader and she could tell by the way his body had tightened that he had been contemplating retreat. Her clenched fist hadn't helped her front in the slightest. Her throat had worked dryly as she'd stared at her feet, her hesitant breaths contemplating what she had been about to do.

"What is she...?" Yoko's breathing had hitched when she'd watched Neirah awkwardly raise her relaxing hands in front of her, staring at them for a moment before reaching forward and resting them along Kittan's sides. Her expression had warmed with amusement as the confused woman stepped forward and finally answered the question on everyone's mind.

Kittan had looked down to where the woman had her arms wrapped around his waist and he'd panicked, looking back at Yoko with a wildly bemused gaze begging instruction. In response, her intense expression had glared back at him and flailed her arms to indicate that he should reciprocate the comforting embrace. Trusting that Yoko had considered the conversation he hadn't been privy to and his best interest, he'd fumbled obediently and returned the gauche woman's first hug.

"Thank you," Neirah whispered tenderly. When she'd relaxed to the feeling of his acceptance of her abnormality, she'd pressed her flushing face against his chest and stared narrowly into his shirt. "I needed the closure..." Feeling the pain and the rage all at once had overwhelmed her, but it had also reminded her that she was human; a human aligned with other humans that had felt similarly and had continued to fight through it. She would grow stronger, better than she was yesterday in order to repay the kindness that was their concern for the tears that she couldn't let fall.

"No freaking way," Kidd snarled. "How the hell did that idiot manage to score contact outta this?!"

Zorthy had sniggered deviously to himself. "Maybe he's not such an idiot after all."

"Neirah, I didn't mean-" Kittan's sentiment had been cut short as her grip around him had started to tighten and tremble. He'd known that she was hurting in her own way but her ability to carry the weight had caused an affectionate colour to fill his uncomfortable expression. With a gentle sigh, he'd denied his need to fight her and pry out feelings that she had been content with shouldering on her own. "Uh sure... anytime..."

"What a strange girl," Leeron muttered softly from the control tower. "Wise beyond her years yet perplexed by a simple hug..."

"I think it's adorable," Tetsukan added fondly.

"Oh?" Leeron had acknowledged a beacon flashing on their broadcasting channel before clicking on it and bringing a view of three young women up on his screen. He'd turned and looked out towards Tetsai before concluding that the transmission had not come from that location. He'd listened to the broadcast run through intently before touching his microphone and summoning their command. "I hate to cut this short, but, Kittan? I think you should take a look at this..."

"Ah! Please, you have to help us! It's awful! Our village is being attacked by a lot of gunmen! Please help! We are just defenceless girls!"

"Oh! The gunmen are almost upon us! Ah!"

Kittan had stared back at the screen eagerly as the transmission was cut brief before him, his nerves singed with the need to defend. "Those poor girls! We need to help 'em right away!"

"I guess I could find out where they are..." Leeron murmured indifferently.

Tetsukan had narrowed his gaze on the sight fretfully. "It all smells awfully fishy to me..."

"You know," Leeron reasoned. "The enemy is sure to have picked up that transmission too."

"And would people underground have communication equipment like that?" Kinon reasoned meekly.

"Everyone shut up! Quit worryin' about all the details!" Kittan ordered lividly. "You saw what they did to Neirah's village! Do you want those poor babes to get completely wiped out while we're sitting around here arguing!?"

"One hug and he's the defender of the universe," Dayakka murmured drearily under his breath.

"The female one, at least," Leeron crooned.

"Morons! Who cares if they're girls or guys or whatever! If Kamina were here, he'd set out to rescue them without a second thought!" As soon as Kittan had realised what he'd said, he'd humbled hesitantly in a room stolen by an apprehensive hush.

Although struck with the need to identify with the 'whatever's, Leeron had nodded gently and turned his reassuring gaze to Kittan. "That's right... He wouldn't have hesitated for a moment."

Kittan's spirits had risen but he'd still been shackled by the doubts of being so audacious. "Yeah, like I just said..." he announced nervously. "Right! Dai-Gurren, move out!"

Neirah had sat quietly in her room, her legs folded and the back of her wrists resting on either side of her sheathed sword as she'd meditated quietly in its centre. Memories had been flashing through her mind like old movie reels, twisting and winding down dark paths even as she'd fought to steady her heartbeat and release them all.

She'd never felt more like she'd belonged somewhere. Even though she had come to them broken, she'd been loved by the family she'd found and it had filled her with the warm hope she'd come to cherish during her time on the surface. Soon, she'd lost the sight of the agonizing memories, the pain and fear. They'd faded into the light she'd affectionately come to cherish as her hope for humanity.

With it, she'd been capable of blotting out her grim surroundings and sinking into the deep, purposeful meditation she'd sought. She'd even managed to ignore the lively sounds of cannon fire blasting from the deck of their Dai-Gurren. Siren's hadn't sounded the alarm in her ears so she'd assumed that Artenborough had been getting trigger happy on them again. It had actually been comforting. The humans she'd surrounded herself with had all been unique. They'd all had different ambitions and personalities, and she was becoming one of them.

But no matter how peaceful she had been in the moment she'd heard the unfamiliar drag of footsteps down the hall of Dai-Gurren's sleeping quarters, she'd snapped to attention when they'd approached her door. She'd cut her intensely focused gaze to where their touch had made it to her doorknob to jiggle it and moments after, automatic weapons had been firing to unhinge the tumbler.

"Alright! If anyone's in here, come out!"

The anteater beastmen had lowered their weapons the moment they'd realised that the room had been vacant. "Looks like there's no one here."

"Right! Let's get to the next one!"

Neirah's gaze had flashed as she'd dropped from the archway she'd been suspended above and the shots of startled fires had echoed throughout the living quarters over the sound of their distressed cries.

'There's no sign of anyone else on the ship...' Neirah had pattered gently through the halls, silently incapacitating beastmen as she'd done so. 'This place is crawling with beastmen but no one else.' She'd neared another corner, pausing to peek around it until she'd confirmed that it was clear. 'These rats must be with Guame. That's good for me. He's been around so long that he doesn't think anything can catch him off-'

Neirah had narrowly restricted a gentle shriek when a door in the hall adjacent to her had opened to the sight of one of her enemies slipping free. She'd quickly darted into the nearest doorway at her side and prepared to attack him when he'd chased after her, but luckily, he'd played off the silent click of her closing the door as his imagination. She'd heaved a relieved sigh to herself before realising that she'd locked herself in Kidd's accommodations. She could tell by the random disarray of his belongings strewn about haphazardly. She'd silently promised herself that she'd help him sort it out when she'd gotten him back.

Her gaze had tapered curiously when she'd noticed that his bed had been strewn with blank sheets of paper, which had struck her as befuddling when she'd considered that most of the men in her company couldn't read or write. She'd neared the pile and tried to comprehend the words that he had obviously been trying his hardest to learn how to handwrite and, unfortunately, all she could make out were the letter's e, i and a. She'd smiled fondly to herself. 'At least he's got vowels down...' Her gaze had intensified as she'd set the paper down and turned to glare at the closed door between her and defence. 'Don't worry. When we get through this, I'll teach you everything I know...'

She'd left the room to a clear coast and continued on her path, slinking her way down the halls that she had become intimate with during their travels. She'd managed to make her way to a door leading onto the deck. She'd known that it would be a dangerous gamble, but she wouldn't be able to scout the hangar in its state. Guame's lackeys had seemed to be searching for something and a generous majority of them had believed that it had been amongst their gunmen. She'd growled lowly to herself. 'If there is a single fingerprint on Tsaizuko when I get back, I'll kill you all...'

Kidd had been too busy scouring the room to be wasting his time trying to break free. He'd become alarmed at the fact that he hadn't noticed Neirah there with them, quietly meditating and keeping her uncanny cool, peeking from her peaceful thoughts once in a while to mock Kittan's raving. Eventually, his shot nerves had raised him to his feet to conduct a ground search. His advance had grown swifter and swifter until his brother had managed to notice his panicked steps carrying him around in circles. "Did you lose something, Kidd?"

Kidd had whirled to face one direction and then the other. "Y-yeah, where's Neirah?" He'd whirled back to face his brother with a panicked expression. "I thought I was just imagining it at first, but she's really not here!"

Overhearing his nervous quip, Kittan had mechanically rotated his gaze to where he could face Kidd's with a stern look of caution on his disbelieving expression. "What d'ya mean 'where's Neirah'? You always know where Neirah is. If you're askin', then that means that Neirah's. not. here."

Zorthy's brow had knotted calmly with the eerie tone of Kittan's voice promising that if someone hadn't dragged Neirah out of a hole in the ground, he was going to go postal on someone. "Well, that was creepy..."

"Yeah," Kidd agreed dismally. "That's why I asked."

Kittan had cocked his head to one side, unwilling to believe what he'd been hearing. "Wanna run that by me again?"

"I think you recapped it pretty accurately just a minute ago," Iraak instigated. "In short-"

The entire area had stilled to the sound of Kittan's livid roar. "What the hell do you mean she's not here!?" He'd scampered around in the same circles Kidd had just investigated, tossing their bound allies out of the way in an attempt to uncover her whereabouts. "Neirah! Hey! Don't screw around!"

"You can't honestly be noticing this just now..." Yoko murmured grimly.

His wild gaze had continued his search in vain. "Where the hell else would she be?! She's not here. Did they honestly take her somewhere else!? But that-"

"Maybe that old commander of hers is here and he's got her somewhere special," Zorthy lazily theorized.

"Don't even say that!" Kidd snapped in alarm. "Like hell she'd let herself get caught! I bet she's out there kickin' ass right now without us!"

"I'm pretty sure we'd hear Tsaizuko causing a ruckus by now if that were the case," Leeron debunked.

"Neirah!" Kittan thundered in the centre of the pit. "You bastards! If you sons of bitches so much as touch one hair on that kid's head you're dead meat! Do you hear me!?"

Dayakka had groaned, devastated that he couldn't cover his ears with his hands locked in front of him. "Kittan, everyone on this side of the tundra can hear you!"

"Knock it off, big brother," Kiyal scolded firmly. "With our luck, you'll cause an avalanche."

"Neirah!"

Yoko had growled bleakly and turned to glare impatiently at Kidd, who had already sheepishly regretted his folly. "You just had to say somethin', didn't you?" Yoko's gaze had softened for a moment when she'd caught the sight of Simon nearby, his glasses ignited in blue light as he'd hunched against the wall and slowly carved into it with his core drill between his bound hands. "Simon..."

Kittan had rammed the door with all his might, the adrenaline of his fury keeping him from feeling the sharp pain. "Give her back! I swear when I bust outta here I'll skin you all alive!"

"Kittan, for the love of God shut the hell up!" Zorthy demanded edgily.

At the moment it had taken Kittan to catch his breath in preparation to shout back at the bold man to defy him, he'd caught the sound of the same gentle ticking that Yoko had. He'd approached her side and turned his somewhat-calming gaze to where he'd observed the same sight. "What is he...?"

"So this is what he meant..." Yoko murmured softly. "Kamina once said to me, 'He's always the one that saves my ass... He's always the one who never gives up. Never...'"

Kittan had stared back at her hopefully, the sound of Kamina's name settling his riled nerves just to consider what he might have done in a similar situation. "He did...?"

Yoko had quietly turned to face the man with a bashful smile. "Sometimes, we get lucky... And he had faith in all that luck, and in Simon... who brought us that luck in the first place."

Kittan had looked at his feet, taking a deep breath. "So what you're sayin' is..."

Neirah had slipped out of the door in front of her just in time to be joined by a pack of three enemies in idle conversation at the end of the hall she'd traversed moments prior. On Dai-Gurren's deck, she had been left in the wide open so she'd had no choice but to be swift. She'd darted down the corridor as fast as her tiny feet could carry her before she'd nearly reached the end of the structure defending her from being on the main stretch. She'd paused for a moment to catch her breath near a heap of old gunmen parts and other assorted garbage. Unfortunately, more beastmen had decided to pose a risk to her slinking.

She'd yelped softly and quickly scoured the area around her for cover and was relieved to see that Lagann had been nearby. She'd quickly leapt inside it as the beastmen had passed by without turning down her humble path. From what she could tell, she'd been saved from another close call. "Phew... Thank you, Lagann. I owe you o-" Her expression had paled, forcing her to flee backwards when its eyes had illuminated like she'd just offered it an insult. "I-no? I'm sorry! I'll get out! I'll-" She'd shrieked the moment that the canopy had closed around her and no matter how much she'd banged on it, it wouldn't release. "No! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have! I'll leave! Just open up and-"

Overhearing the shrill screech of the panicked woman, the beastman to pass by the trash heap had quickly poked his head back around the corner to investigate the sound of Neirah's terrified screams. He'd staggered a little further only to find a hole in the place of where he'd thought there had been nothing but trash. "Wait a minute... Was there a hole here before?"

Simon had flinched in alarm, fleeing backwards when Lagann had crashed through the tunnel to land in front of him. "Lagann?" He'd stared back at the familiar face, reacting on its own accord to his healing heart. The sight had filled him with positivity. "Lagann!"

Kittan and Yoko had winced the moment Simon's startled cries had been joined with feminine ones when Lagann's hatch had flipped open. "Wait, was that a woman's screams?" Yoko murmured in confusion.

"So what? He's just diggin' 'em up out of the ground now?" Zorthy announced in disbelief.

Neirah had stared back at Simon nervously, unsure of how they'd ended up face to face for the first time in such close quarters. "U-uhm... hello... I um, don't believe we've ever officially been introduced..."

"Neirah?" he murmured lightly in confusion. "What are you doing in Lagann?"

"That-!" She'd groaned softly and slowly folded herself around the debris in the tunnel so that she could step out of his mecha. "Is a tale for another day..."

"O-okay..."

She'd turned over her shoulder and smiled back at him in gentle encouragement. "But our home has been overrun by beastmen so be careful when you get topside. We have some serious pest-control to run on Dai-Gurren," she assured. "I'll make sure everyone else gets to safety here. You go and find Nia. I overheard one of Guame's lackeys mention that they'd taken her to him."

Simon had stared back at her quietly for a long moment before nodding his head with the first confident smile she'd ever seen him flash. "Right, thanks! I'll carve a path for you to follow!"

Neirah's expression had weakened in surprise to notice his sudden adjustment, but as he'd leapt into his gunmen with a renewed strength, all she could do was blush and watch his light lead the way.

"Simon!" Yoko hollered down his tunnel in concern. "Are you okay in here?! We heard screams and we-"

The entire room had recoiled when Yoko had squealed and fled backwards away from the opening in the wall. Soon after she had, Neirah had been stepping through to join them.

"Nei! You're okay!" Kidd whimpered with grateful tears in his eyes. "See, Kittan! I told you she wouldn't get caught! She's way too badass!"

"Most impressive," Iraak crooned fondly upon giving his freed wrists a comforting wring.

Kittan had blinked back at the woman approaching him to the sound of cheers filling their prison after she'd already released a handful of their teammates. "Neirah you-"

She'd grinned back at him soundly and draped her katana over her shoulder. "You didn't honestly think they'd get their grubby paws on this shadow, did you? No one is faster than I am." She'd bowed forward respectfully, causing his expression to darken. "Now, I'm here to rescue you, princess."

"You what!?"

She'd straightened with a gentle snigger. "You know, you should really find someone else to pick your battles for you," she teased. He'd commanded their ship to two locations, each of them ending in nothing short of a disaster. "This is your second strike, after all."

He'd growled impatiently, his face igniting crimson with humiliation. "Errr, do you have any idea how worried I was!? Then you come poppin' up outta holes spoutin' crap like that!? You cheeky brat! I can't believe you right now!"

She'd drawn her sword and, despite the look of panic in his eyes, cleaved his restraints in two. "I warned you that this queen defends her own castle, didn't I?"

"Well, yeah, you did..."

"So? Don't act so surprised when she comes for her king, okay?"

Kittan's expression had grown overwhelmed with the impact of her smooth sentiment not only striking him but taking his heart right out of his chest. "Y-your... Wait, yours?"

"Kittan!" Yoko had hollered back at him from where she and Neirah had guided the others to the tunnels Simon had dug to aid in their escape. "Are you just gonna stay in here or-?"

Neirah had spun from where she had been at Yoko's side the moment that Guame had bounced past them and into his custom gunmen. She'd drawn her attention to where Kittan had been choking the life out of a beastmen bystander and filled her voice with command. "Kittan! The hanger is clear! Get the boys to their gunmen!"

He hadn't released his victim despite how casual his expression had remained. "What about you?"

"Neirah and I will be fine!" Yoko added swiftly. "But right now, we need something to defend against that!"

Kittan had watched the sight of Gember straightening in preparation to attack. "Aw crap!"

"Consider the tables turned, humans!" Guame postured triumphantly. "You've thrown a wrench into my plans so now I'm going to execute you myself. The sight of my mighty Gember and that of your own miserable deaths will be projected above the heads of every human on the surface."

Kittan had lurched forward and shook his fist. "Say what, ya big bastard!?"

Yoko's wildly mortified gaze had locked on the gunmen before them as she pointed directly at it. "Neirah! Quick! Throw those little dart thingies like you did last time! Take him out!"

Neirah's grim gaze had slunk to where Yoko had barked her confident command through a cocky smile. "Do you have any idea how thick that armour is? No amount of luck is going to penetrate that." She'd snorted wryly and twisted her gloomy pout to the side as Yoko's once confident expression had paled to the retraction of her nervous finger. "They don't call him Guame the Impenetrable for nothing..."

"That's Guame the Immovable!" Guame ordered eccentrically.

Yoko had whirled to face Neirah in a panicked frenzy. "Then what the heck good are you!?"

"I'm the one you're going to fight!" Rossiu had commanded through Gurren's thundering sound system.

"You think that toy is any match for my Gember?!" Gember had mobilized, restraining Gurren before morphing and taking a bite out of the alarmed mecha before Rossiu had been given the chance to finish articulating his panicked yelp. "What's wrong?"

"What the-!?" Kittan had tossed his hands back into his hair and tried to comprehend what he had been seeing. "That thing's eating Gurren!"

Neirah had been panic-stricken to see Gurren bound and helpless before the battle had even begun. "What kind of a monster creates a gunmen who can eat other gunmen?!"

Next to Kittan, Yoko had honed her rifle in on the disturbing sight and fired a few shots at the heavily armoured mecha before them in hopes of freeing Rossiu. Unfortunately, it hadn't made so much as a dent in Gember's armour.

"Hang on, Rossiu!" Neirah called out. "I'll go and get-!"

"Don't even think about it!" Kittan snapped severely. "If Gurren can barely hold up against that, Tsaizuko would be crushed flat!"

Neirah had lunged back forward and met his challenge head-on. "So what!? You want us to do nothing!?"

He'd ripped his hand back and shoved his thumb into the centre of his chest. "No! I'm gonna go get King Kittan and thrash that thing!"

"Then what are you waiting for?!"

"Don't try to be the gentleman!" Yoko shouted irately. "If the two of you don't do something, Rossiu will be-"

"Rossiu!"

Rossiu had turned and looked at his communications screen when he'd heard Simon call out to him. "Simon?"

"Let's combine!"

Rossiu's glowing expression had risen to where he'd taken notice of Lagann overhead. "You got it!" He'd powered off the deck of Dai-Gurren to flip the chomping mecha onto its back, exposing Gurren's top for Lagann's impact.

"Damn it! It's that mini gunmen!" Guame shouted impatiently. He had been left to sit in shock and awe at the sight of life breathing into Gurren Lagann before him. "I don't believe it! Is this the Gurren Lagann I've heard about!?"

Simon had risen from inside Lagann's head on top of their combined forces, his arms folded over his chest and his expression fierce with determination. "My bro is dead! He's gone! But he's right there on my back, and here in my heart! He lives on as a part of me! If you're gonna dig, dig to the heavens! No matter what's in my way I won't stop! Once I've dug through, it means that I've won!"

Guame had trembled in fear and befuddlement. "You what? What are you talking about!?"

"Just who the hell do you think that I am!? I'm Simon. I'm not my bro, I'm me! Simon the digger!"

Kittan had been taken aback the moment that Simon had broken through the hold Gember had managed to bind him with, a familiar finishing move in the works. "No way!" he exclaimed in disbelief.

Yoko had been just as bewildered by his side. "That move was a-!"

Neirah's amazed gaze had begun to glow as she'd watched Simon repeat the finishing move that Kamina had used in his final battle only this time, she was doing it beneath the sun high in a bright blue sky. In a matter of moments, they had rendered a third Four General's custom gunmen incapacitated to the point of retreat. 'This is the power of humanity,' she thought in amazement. Her smile couldn't help but broaden hopefully as Gurren Lagann had landed safely, igniting the sky in a tremendous blaze of glory. 'Mom...

I won't be a machine...'

Neirah had stood quietly next to Yoko, watching with a humble expression as they'd staked the last grave that they'd dug for another of the Spiral King's discarded princesses. She'd kept a close eye on Nia's back as the sun had set around them. She had empathized with the girl all too well when she'd realised that the Spiral King had done the exact same thing to her village. Once their course had been run and their usefulness had been lost, they had all been abandoned; lost to the sands of time.

"To me, father was my entire world. My whole life I believed in no one but him... relied on no one but him. That's why I wanted so desperately to believe in him. Until the very end..." Nia's voice had begun to crack with emotion. "Why is it that we were all born, I wonder?"

"Nia, here," Simon offered kindly. "You can have it. I found it while I was digging earlier."

She'd gratefully accepted the rough emerald that he'd gifted her with a gleeful smile. "It's pretty!"

"It's hard to explain, but it doesn't matter why you were born, or what you are." Simon had smiled back at her sheepishly as he'd spoken. "The Nia you are right here and now is what counts. That's why you should go on being yourself. And I'll... just be myself too."

Kittan had smiled at the ground before interrupting their calm exchange. "Yeah, that's more like it. That's the team Dai-Gurren way." He'd sniggered as he'd neared Simon before clapping him on the back hard enough to make the boy yelp. "Ain't that right, leader?"

Simon had turned and faced their companions with a look of alarm on his face. "What?!"

"Yer the one," Kittan encouraged confidently. "The one Kamina picked for the job."

"Yep, but I think the speech you gave was pretty half-assed though," Yoko sassed.

"Yeah, she's right," Kittan brightly concurred. "That could use a little work!"

"What!? Hey, come on!" Simon defended meekly.

"He should get Nei to write it," Kidd added with a curt snicker.

Jorgun had been the first to concur. "Yeah! She write good!"

Balinbow had been quick to follow his twin's lead. "Smart girl make great speeches!"

Iraak had turned away from the boisterous rabble with an attempt to locate the woman in question who had been standing next to Yoko a moment before. "Speaking of Neirah has anyone seen where she-"

Zorthy had lurched forward and covered his mouth to keep him from saying any more. "Dumbass! Don't you remember what happened last time someone said the assassin was missing!?"

"She's not missing," Kidd casually assured them. When they'd looked towards his light expression, he'd tipped his thumb back over his shoulder. "She's right over there."

"And he'd know," Zorthy murmured sullenly.

The group had turned to face where Neirah had found herself a little patch of land, silently mimicking the act of creating a grave even though she'd had no remains to bury. She'd taken a couple of small twigs and bound them in just a way that when she'd marked the memorial, it would not be mistaken.

Simon's expression had dropped sadly. "Oh... Neirah..." He had been about to go to her for comfort but before he could, Kittan was grabbing his shoulder and stunting his progress.

"I don't think so, Simon," he calmly denied. "After that sorry attempt, I don't think yer the one to deal with a Neirah-sized dilemma."

Simon's brow had furrowed curiously. "Meaning... you are?"

"I've got lots'a practice so this one's all mine," he crooned triumphantly. He'd patted the boy's shoulder with a kind smile. "Don't wait up for us... We'll meet you back at Dai-Gurren."

"But Kittan-!" Simon had flinched and turned to face where Yoko had slowly shaken her head.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine." Yoko smiled and turned her back, encouraging Nia and Simon to follow. "Come on you two. We've got a lot of work to do." After a moment of watching Kittan slowly approach where Neirah had been hunched over, Simon had turned and quietly followed Yoko on her way back to the ship.

Kittan had stood by Neirah's side with his hands in his pockets, offset back a few steps in case she hadn't been entirely comfortable with his presence. If nothing else, he'd just wanted to be there in case she'd finally decided to let someone in. For the first time, he had been able to steal a quiet moment and just watch the glow of the setting sun illuminate her soft features. For the first time, he'd felt it; the warmth of hope that she'd always talked about. Finally, it had felt like they were ready to move forward, all of them; together.

"How long did it last?"

Kittan had raised his softened gaze to where she had quietly spoken from where she'd been crouched before him.

"The pain of losing your village and everything you'd known?"

He'd diverted his gaze to the humble monument that she'd made amongst the graves of the fallen princesses. He'd raised his arm, giving his nape a sheepish scratch. "I... don't know... It happened so long ago..." He'd straightened with an earnest look on his face. "But I dunno that it's ever gone away," he assured her truthfully. "Maybe it won't either."

Neirah hadn't seemed comforted by the weight of his sentiment, which was good. She hadn't been looking for comfort. "I wonder if that means that I never loved anything there," she continued quietly. "Or maybe I'm just not human enough yet. I don't feel... any pain over the loss; any purpose for being the last one standing." She'd slowly stood up next to him and looked down to where she'd respectfully marked a grave for the loss of Tetsai. "I'm just... angry. I'm so angry that it hurts..."

"We'll get them back..."

She'd turned quietly over her shoulder to face his confident look of determination.

"Not just for this, but for Kamina and Nia too. For Tetsai and Bachika and everyone else these bastards have screwed with." He'd diverted his gaze sheepishly, unable to meet the passion in hers. "People don't belong underground... They belong up here where they can see each other like I'm seein' you right now." He'd turned and looked into the sunset at her back, but not without first sneaking a peek at how beautiful she'd looked standing against it. "Hey..." He'd waited until he'd had her complete attention before continuing. "Back... back in that pit there, what you said-"

"I'm sorry," she crooned gently. She had been immediately filled with guilt for making him cross with her over a silly joke. "I didn't mean anything by it. I promise I'll keep it to myself next time, okay?"

His expression had only been caught slightly disheartened before he'd been turning his flushing expression away. "Oh uh, yeah! That's more like it!" He'd turned away so that she didn't catch the sight of disappointment in his expression. He'd figured that she probably hadn't been on the same page as him, but he just couldn't get up the courage to put her on the right one. "We'd better get goin' anyway," he assured her softly. "Knowing those jerks, they'll probably leave without us."

"Kittan?"

His attention had immediately shot to where her hand had reached out and rested against his arm before he could retreat. "Y-yeah? What is it?"

She'd closed her eyes and smiled back at him fondly. "I know this is going to sound strange, but... You make me feel human."

"I- what?" He hadn't known what she'd meant, but it had meant a lot to her. That was all that had mattered to him.

She'd smiled back at him bashfully, dropping her relaxed expression in line with his. "This doesn't change anything," she assured him devotedly. "Simon may be our leader now, but I still follow you."

His gaze had locked on her and followed the gentle sway of her hips as she'd started on her return to Dai-Gurren. "Hey, Neirah! Wait up!"

"But because you're not my leader anymore, I don't have to take orders from you," she teased.

"Like you did anyway!" he shouted impatiently. "Cheeky little-"

"So if you want me to follow, you'd better keep up!"

"What!? You wanna race, or somethin'!? Y'know I won't hold back 'cause yer a chick!"

"As if you would stand a chance." Neirah had whirled in the bright sunlight and offered him a genuine beam in the warm golden light. "Nobody is faster than I am."

The moment Kittan had been entranced a second time by her stunning beauty, he'd narrowly managed to miss the hole left by a gunshot nearly taking off his foot. "What the hell-!?"

"Awe, you missed!" Kidd whined energetically. "I thought you were supposed to be good at this?!"

"Has he seriously put out a hit on Kittan?!" Dayakka rumbled in alarm.

"Yeah, geez, Kittan. Slow much," Yoko teased from the bow of their battleship. "How does that dust taste?" She'd giggled when a tiny livid Kittan had stopped to shake his fist at them.

"You guys suck, you know that?! We were havin' a moment, okay!?"

Yoko had whirled in her seat, her hair whispering around her soft, glowing features as she'd turned to face Simon. "So? What do you say, leader? Should we leave him behind?"

Simon had turned to face where Kidd had been nodding so frantically he'd feared the man would lose consciousness. "Uhm... well I..."

"Simon, don't you dare!" Kittan roared in the distance.

Simon had dropped his head dismally. "My head hurts... This leader stuff is hard."

Insulted that Simon had been having a hard time deciding whether or not to wait for him, Kittan's furious roar had filled the tundra around them. "THE HELL'S SO HARD ABOUT IT!?"

Simon had smiled hopefully and heaved a defeated sigh. "I feel like I've really missed a lot over the past little while," he murmured softly. "I don't really know what's going on anymore..." He'd yelped in alarm the moment Neirah had suddenly appeared by his side and offered him her hand. "Wha-!? When did you get here?!"

"Hello!" she beamed back at him eagerly. "I'm Neirah!"

Simon had blinked back at her curiously. "Uh... but I already know who you are?"

Neirah had neared him with a relaxed smile on her face. "Well that can't be right," she denied. "Because even I'm still learning that as we go!"

"Y-you are?"

"Aren't we all?" Yoko encouraged playfully. "I don't know about you, but when I left Littner to start a rebellion against the beastmen, I never thought it would turn out like this!"

"We are a lot stronger," Leeron sang spiritedly.

"And we'll get stronger still," Dayakka assured him confidentially.

"That's what I love about you surface humans," Neirah purred fondly. "The person you were yesterday is different from the person you are today. Maybe it's not always better, but you're never the same come tomorrow. It's exciting."

"But Simon is Simon!" Nia cried as she clung to his arm. "I don't want him to change!"

Yoko had turned up her nose with a bitter scoff. "Well if you ask me, I like this Simon way better," she derided. She'd turned to give Simon a flirtatious wink. "Much more appropriate for our leader."

"Y-you really think so," he murmured bashfully.

"Nah, ya may be our leader now, but yer still an amateur," Kittan added from on deck. "It'll take a lotta tomorrows for ya to catch up to a great leader like me!"

"I was wrong," Neirah muttered bleakly. "Some people never change. How boring..."

"Oh yeah!? Well while yer spoutin' crap, let me remind you that yer freaky friend shot at me to give you a head start! I could outrun you any day!"

"Now that would take a lot of tomorrows," Yoko added fondly. She'd turned to Simon with a tender smile. "So, what d'ya say we fight for a couple more of 'em? Y'know, for Kittan's sake."

"Hey! I don't need yer pity!"

"Yeah..." Simon agreed proudly. He'd turned and looked into the setting sun with a confident smile. "That's the way Team Dai-Gurren rolls."

'Stronger together,' Neirah mused proudly. 'I'm sorry, Mom, but this is where I'm meant to be...'